In his first sit down interview since Thursday's first debate in Denver, he tells ABC's Diane Sawyer, in an interview taped for tonight's World News, that he "had a bad night."

When challenged by Sawyer, he gave a bit more ground, but quickly pivoted to the attack.

"Well it's not the first time I've had a bad night," he said. "But I think what's important is the, the fundamentals of what this race is about haven't changed. You know, Governor Romney went to a lotta trouble to try to hide what his positions are"

The incumbent, who pundits said struggled against an aggressive GOP nominee, immediately sought to paint Romney as a liar in the days following the verbal skirmish. His poll numbers took a major hit -- Romney is ahead in several tracking polls -- and Obama has tried multiple strategies to revive what was once a full-speed-ahead campaign, with stops in Hollywood to reassure donors (and raise some more cash) and a focus on Romney's threats to cut funding to PBS (and his mentioning of Big Bird during the debate).